Republican senators rally to support McConnell after Trump's threats

Republican senators have rallied to support Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) after President Trump lobbed public criticism at the lawmaker on Thursday, CNN reports. "As Benjamin Franklin said: We can hang together or hang separately," tweeted Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), the second-highest ranking Republican in the Senate.

Putting it more bluntly, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) added that McConnell "has been the best leader we've had in my time in the Senate, through very tough challenges. I fully support him." Other senators also added their voices to the chorus:

Politico Playbook wrote earlier this week that despite Trump's open hostility, "McConnell is not going anywhere for a very long time, he commands respect from all Republican senators and controls the Senate floor."

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